


Can't Handle This

by Taitai83



Series: Music-Inspired Fics [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien can't handle his liquor, Bittersweet, Drunk Dialing, Ladybug is not having it, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 00:02:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19366297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taitai83/pseuds/Taitai83
Summary: Adrien gets a little drunk and Chat leaves Ladybug a voicemail. She's pissed about both of these things.





	Can't Handle This

**Author's Note:**

> For the purposes of this fic, assume that the only way to learn a Miraculous wielder's identity is for them to either tell you directly or to see them detransform. The magic prevents any kind of "figuring it out" from coincidences or hints. So they might be completely oblivious, but it's not their fault.
> 
> -  
> Inspired by "Got a Little Drunk Last Night" by the Eli Young Band

_"…I know you don’t want me to call, My Lady, and I’m sorry, but…. <siiiiiiigh> I just can’t help but think about your bluebell eyes tonight. I don’t think I’m ever going to stop loving you. You’re my souuuul mate. <siiiiiiiiiiigh> You’re gonna be soooooo mad at me tomorrow. But maybe you won’t, maybe maybe maybe baby baby bugaboo…."_

Chat Noir sat kicking his legs over the side of the roof, occasionally squeezing his eyes shut to try to soothe the dry-ache in them, and stubbornly ignoring the throbbing in the back of his head. He would have called out sick if he didn’t _reaaaaally_ have to apologize.

He knew he shouldn’t have called her. He knew she was going to be pissed. He had promised her that he was fine, that _they_ were fine, and that their partnership and friendship would always come first. And he had totally failed on that part. Three (admittedly-strong) drinks were all it took for him to begin to lose control over his emotions, and the ill-advised-one-more tipped him over the edge into calling her, _again._ Maybe it was because he’d been sitting with Marinette; with her black hair and blue eyes, she did kind of look like his Lady. But really, the reason, the _cat_ alyst, for his loss of control was irrelevant. She was going to be pissed. 

And yet. And yet, Chat couldn’t help but allow the tiny bubble of hope. That maybe _this time_ whatever he’d drunkenly declared to her voicemail had made its way into her heart, and maybe _this time_ she would cry a little and let him in and they could be…

He heard the sound of her feet landing on the roof behind him.

Yeah, no, she was _pissed._

He dropped his chin to his chest as he squeezed his eyes shut again.

“Ok, let’s get it over with, Chat." 

 _REALLY_ pissed.

“My Lady, I am so sorry,” he muttered to his knees before spinning around to face her. She was still standing a few yards away, her posture defensive, her arms crossed over her chest as she scowled fiercely at him.

He sighed. “I had a few drinks at a party, and I was talking with a girl who looked like you, and I just-“

“And you just called me, _again,_ to leave me a rambling voicemail, _again,_ and make me feel even worse than I already did, _again!”_ she finished for him, her voice rising with every beat. 

He winced. “It’s the last time, I swear.” 

“You say that _EVERY TIME!”_

He winced again and watched her angrily brush away the tears that had started forming in her eyes, huff a deep breath, and cross her arms again. 

“I can’t _DO_ this again, Chat! I can’t let you make me feel this bad! Do you know where I was last night? I was at an _engagement_ party for my best. friend. I was supposed to be _happy_ , at a _happy_ occasion, because my friend deserves nothing but the fucking best. And instead I had to spend the whole fucking party listening to the best man cry into his drink about this girl that he loves and how I’m _almost_ like her.” He heard her choke a little on the word, but she swallowed hard, brushed the tears away again, and continued on determinedly. He swallowed his own shame and let her have at him.

“I’m _almost_ good enough for him. _Almost_ important enough to notice. _Almost_ worthy of his fucking attention.” She had to keep wiping the furious tears from her eyes as she fumed. Chat ached to do it for her, to brush away all her misery and anger with his thumb, but it would only make things worse. After all, this was his fault, or at least partly so. He dug his claws into his palms instead.

“And then I get home from _that_ debacle and find that I have _another_ voicemail from _you,_ which only makes me feel 1000 times worse! I can’t keep doing this! You _KNOW_ why you can’t do this, why _WE_ can’t do this! How can I trust you when you keep _DOING THIS?_ ”

He leapt to his feet and reached for her, only to have her step back from him, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger and shining with tears as she glared at him. He held out his arms placatingly but didn’t step closer. 

“Please My Lady, I’m so,  _so_ sorry. I was such an ass, I’ve _BEEN_ such an ass. I _KNOW_ that you don’t love me like that, and to keep calling you after…” he swallowed hard and looked away from her.

“I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me,” he finished quietly.

Ladybug continued to scowl at him, the tears now falling freely from her eyes.

“I can’t do this again, Chat,” she murmured, this time without the heat behind it. Somehow, the quiet sadness in her voice was even harder to handle than the anger.

“I know, My Lady,” he said quietly, taking a tentative step towards her again. This time she didn’t step away. “I know, I’m _so_ sorry.”

She let him wrap her in a hug, and after a moment, she hugged him back.

“I’m going to stop drinking, just so you know,” he murmured into her hair. “I can keep myself together normally, but apparently I’m a sad drunk. And hey, my best friend just got engaged too, I’m sure he’ll be delighted to have a designated driver for the stag-night shenanigans.”

His attempt at humor fell completely flat.

“But are you _okay?_ Chat, I need you to _really_ work at this, not just repress your feelings and hope they don’t blow up.”

He squeezed her gently. “I know, My Lady, and I _can_ honestly say that I’m working on it. But I wouldn’t give up your friendship for any amount of emotional upheaval.”

Again, the joke didn’t have the desired effect, as she pulled back to look at him with some concern.

“Really, My Lady, I’ll manage. It will be easier if I don’t get drunk around pretty girls with blue eyes.”

It was the wrong thing to say, and Chat wanted to smack himself in the mouth to dislodge his foot. Her eyes went sullen again, and she sighed and pulled away.

“I’m going home, Chat. Thanks for making an effort.” 

She launched her yo-yo to a distant chimney and vanished in a blur of red.

As soon as she was out of sight, Chat flopped down heavily onto his back and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes. He was such an _idiot_. He was going to lose her completely if he didn’t get a grip. She wanted to be his friend and his partner and he couldn’t even manage to respect her feelings on the matter after a couple of gin-twists. And to hear that he was the _second_ asshole to make her feel bad last night…

He wondered what kind of oblivious idiot would be able to look at her and think about any other woman. And the jackass had just rambled on to her about this girl…

He opened his eyes wide in alarm. He had done that, _exactly_ that, to _Marinette!_ Oh God, he was double the asshole! But Marinette hadn’t seemed to mind his drunken sentimentality, he reasoned. She was the one who had gotten him a cab and arranged for Nathaniel to drive his car home. She was really too good to him. He sighed, thinking more carefully about his friend. Ladybug’s frustration at her ‘best man’s’ obliviousness gave him pause. That guy clearly didn’t know anything about his Lady, but what did _he_ know about _Marinette?_ She was one of his best friends, but they really only ever seemed to talk about him. _His_ modeling, _his_ father, _his_ depressing, un-requited love life. When was the last time he’d asked her about _her?_ His insides squirmed with guilt as he thought about it.

He sighed for the 100th time that night and sat up. Well, at a minimum there were two new resolutions that came out of this fiasco of a weekend. One, he would stop drinking at these parties. If he couldn’t manage to be happy at fucking _Nino’s engagement party,_ there was no clearer sign that alcohol was bad for him at the moment. That should save him from the heartache and both his Lady _and_ Marinette from his emotional vomit.

Two, well.

As Chat landed back in his room and Adrien appeared in his place, he picked up his phone. The call went straight to voicemail, but he figured he probably deserved that.

“Hi Marinette, it’s Adrien. I owe you an apology for my behavior last night, and if you’re willing, I’d like to buy you a cup of coffee or something to make it up to you. Let me know if that’s ok, I know I don’t deserve it.”

He sighed. Marinette was the sweetest person he knew; he was almost certain she’d at least let him apologize. He _hoped_ that she’d let him in more as a friend too, if he tried. That she would let him get to know the side of her that Alya and even Nino knew. But for now, an apology would have to be enough.


End file.
